Machine for lacing shoe uppers



l Sept. 8, 1936. v s. J. FINNl i y MACHINE FOR LACING SHOE UPPERS FiledFeb. 9, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 wmm.

Sept. 8, 1936. s. J. FINN MACHINE P OR LACING SHOE UPPERS Filed Feb. 9,1955 5 sheets-sheet 2 TLM/nm j 7%;

Wlwss Sept 8, 1935# s. J. FINN MACHINE FOR LACING SHOE UPPERS l FiledFeb. 9, 1953 5 sheets-sheet s Sept. 8, 1936.

sQ J. FINN MACHINE FOR LACING SHOE UPPERS Filed Feb. 9, 1933 5Sheets-Sheet 4 lwnon l Sept. 8, 1936. s. J. FINN MACHINE FOR LACING SHOEUPPERS Filed Feb. 9, 1935 5 sheets-sheet 5 Patented Sept. 8, 1936UNl'l'ED STATESv PATENT OFFICE 2,053,469 MACHINE FOR LAC'ING SHOE UPPERSApplication February 9, 1933, Seriall No. 655,937

Claims.

The'present invention relates to machines for lacing together theeyeletted quarters of shoe uppers before lasting and other operations. Awell-known type of machine for performing the 5. lacing operation isillustrated in the U. S. Patent to Enslin No. 1,030,573, granted June25, 1912-, and in the drawings annexed hereto the invention isillustrated as embodied in a machine of the type shown in that patent.

lo'v After the lacing operation on a shoe upper has been completed inthemachine of the patent, the machine continues inmotion'preparatory to.a new operation and forms a series of loops of lacing cord supported bya series of needles, l5 and then comes to rest. The needles are providedwith, barbs forming hooksr at their sides and opening towards their freeends to engage the cord when the cordy is drawn towards the xed ends ofthe needles. The loops are formed in 20 part by a set of looper fingersengaging the cord at both sides of each needle. The thread, beingsecured to the machine at one end of the needle series, is laid in astraight line across the ends of the needles and within the open needlehooks. The looper lingers are mounted to move simultaneously against thethread in forming the loops so `that the thread, for all` loops exceptat the supply endof the series, is drawn lfrom the supply through one ormore sharp bends around the barbs of the needles nearer the supply. Thegreater the number of needles, corresponding to the number of eyelets inthe uppers employed, the greater is the amount of resulting wear on thelacing cord, so that in some cases the cord 35` may become strained orbroken as the loops .are

being formed.

The principal object of the present invention is to reduce greatly thewear and strain during the formation of loops in the lacing cord used 40in a machine of this type, and to render the wear on any part of thecord substantially independent of the number of needles employed,

Another object of the invention is to improve the needle threadingmechanism in a lacing maw 45 chine of the type referred to, in orderthat lthe needles will be threaded with certainty before the looperfingers act to form the'- loops -in the lacing cord.

In accordance with these objectsfafeature of the present inventioncontemplates the provision in-fa lacing machine havingy aseries of laceinserting needles, of means for relativelyactuating the looper lingersand needles to form the-loops one at a time and forse-operatingthe-machine 55' thatthe supplyotlacing cord .for each-needle in beingdrawn from thesupply is not substantially bent out of its path b'y. theother needles. In the present embodiment of -this feature of theinvention, a series Aof independently actuable looper lingersare-provided and arranged to be 5v actuated yieldingly against the cord.in forming loops, thus preventing undue strain on those parts of thecord contained within 4the loops.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a thread fingeracting to engage posi- '10 tively the lacing cord with one or more ofthe needle barbs beiorefthe looper lingers begin to operate. In thepresent form of this feature, the thread linger moves the cord laterallyagainst the sides of the rst and second needles of the series to bethreaded, so that the looper linger at the outside of the lirst needleof the series may bemoved to form a right angle bent at one side of thefirst needle, even though the remaining needles have not yet beenthreaded. The various features above referred to, as well as furtherfeatures relating more or less to the preferred form and arrangement 0f.devices employed in embodying the invention inl the machine hereinafterdescribed, will be understood from` an inspectionxof the accompanying`drawings, in which Fig.. 1 is a plan viewof the machine embodying theinvention,l the parts-being shown in theY posit1ons which they occupywhen theloops have been formed and are being held by the needles andlooper lingers in position to be passed through the eyelet holes of theupper; Fig. 2 is a view in section taken through the machinealong theline 2-2 of Fig. 1,v but with the parts in a position taken after themachine has laced and released the upper of a shoe and theflacing cordis about to be threaded into the machine for a new operation; Fig. 3 isa plan view of the carrier for the looper needles and looper lingers;Fig. 4 is a similar viewwith the 4.0 slide on which the looper ngers aremounted removed; Fig'. 5 is a sectional view of the carrier shown inFig. 3; Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are sectional views of a part of the looperlinger mechanism and mounting in various successive positions; Fig. 9 isadiagrammatic plan view of the needles and portions of the looperlingers and other thread handling mechanism, partly in section; showingthe position of the parts during the needle threading movement; Figs.l0, 11, and l2 50 are similar views showing successive positionscorresponding to the positions of the loopers in Figs. 6, '7, and 8,respectively; and' Fig. 13 is an end view ofthe needles and portions ofthe looper fingers in the positions shown-in Fig. 9.`

The machine illustrated in the drawings has the same generalconstruction and mode of operation, except as hereinafter described, asthe machine shown in the patent to Enslin, above referred to. Themachine of the patent is intended to lace together by means of a lacingcord, the quarters of a shoe upper by passing the lacing cord throughthe eyelets formed in the uppers and fastening the ends of the cordtogether. In operating upon an up-per, the upper is positioned on themachine and the machine is set in motion for one complete cycle duringwhich the upper is released. After the laced upper has been released,the machine continues in motion, rethreading the lacing parts to form aseries of loops of the lacing cord and presenting the loops in positionto be passed through the eyelet holes of the upper when the machine isrestarted.

The machine comprises a series of lacing needles or spindles 2 equal innumber to the number of pairs of eyelet holes which it is desired tolace, a plurality of looper lingers 4, each having an individuallyoperative cord engaging portion, cooperating with the needles to formthe loops in the lacing cord and to retain the loops in position untilthe eyelets on the shoe upper are impaled on the needles, a shuttle orcord feeding needle 6 acting to place the cord in position to be engagedby the needles and looper fingers, and to pass a portion of the cordthrough the loops after they have been engaged with the eyelet holes ofthe upper, a lacing severing means and a knot tying mechanism acting totie the severed ends of the cord together.

The looper needles or spindles 2 of which there are four in the machineshown in the drawings, are mounted in a carrier 8, and the cooperatinglooper fingers are mounted in a slide I0 supported in guideways I2 onthe carrier. The front end of the carrier 8 is supported upon linkconnections for raising and lowering the carrier according to themovements of a cam lever I4 operated by a cam on a cam shaft I6. Theseconnections differ somewhat from those shown in the machine of thepatent and, for obtaining a greater mechanical advantage, comprise abell crank lever I8 fulcrumed on a shaft 20 mounted in the frame of themachine, a link 22 connected between one end of the lever I8, and an arm24 mounted to turn about a fixed shaft 26. The carrier 8 is connected tothe upper end of the link 22 by an adjustable link 28, so that themovements of the toggle comprising the link 22 and the lever I8 will betransferred to the carrier. The lever I8 is rotated about the shaft 20by a second adjustable link 38 connected to a second arm of the lever I8and the extreme end of the cam lever I4. The motion of the carrierthroughout the cycle of movement of the machine is substantially thesame as that described in the patent. The rear end of the carrier 8 ispivotally supported upon the arms of a yoke 32 which is p-ivoted on arod 34 and is rocked to give the carrier its forward and returnmovements by a cam on the cam shaft I6. Movements are imparted to theslide I6 which carries the looper fingers by means of a lever 35 whichis connected with the slide by a link 36, and is provided with a rollengaging a cam groove formed in a cam on the cam shaft I6.

The needles 2 are secured in spindles 38 rotatably mounted in blocks 48,and the blocks are mounted in guideways formed in the front of thecarrier 8, so that the blocks may be adjusted to vary the spacings ofthe needles. The spindles 38 in which the lacing needles are secured arearranged to be rotated to bring the hooks of the needles into positionto receive the lacing cord, and to thereafter be turned into position tohold the loops so that the cord carrying needle 6 will pass through theloops.

In order to rotate the needles, crank arms 42 are secured to the rearends of the spindles and are provided with pins 44 engaging a slot in atransverse bar 46. The bar is carried on the forward ends of two arms 48and 5D connected to a shaft 52 rotatably mounted at one end in a boss 54extending upwardly from the carrier 8, and at the other end in a sideportion of the carrier. When the slide I8 is advanced and the looperfingers 4 are positioned adjacent the free ends of the needles, the cordcarrying needle 6 is moved forward and back across the ends of theneedles, and a lengthV of cord is positioned to be engaged by theneedles. Upon movement of the transverse bar 46 from its lowermostposition to 20 fingers, are brought into a position for the passage 25of the cord needle through the loops.

The cord carrying needle 6 is secured to an arm of a needle carryingslide 56 which is mounted in guideways 58. The slide 56 is reciprocatedby means of a cam on the cam shaft I6 engaging 30 a roll on the rear endof a lever 60. The front end of the lever is provided with a segment 62arranged to engage a pinion 64 which is connected with a gear 66engaging a rack at one end of the needle slide 56.

The supply of lacing cord is led from the eye of the needle 6 throughsuitable guides 61 and a thread clamp 68. Before threading the needles2, the cord carrying needle is rst moved from the left of the machine,as shown in Fig. 1, across the lacing needles 2 to the right side of themachine. The free end of the lacing cord extending from the needle isthen gripped at the right side of the machine, and the cord carryingneedle is retracted, leaving a single length of thread extending inclose proximity above the ends of the needles 2. The carrier 8 is raisedby the link connections to the cam lever I4, causing the cord to beengaged with the needles, and the looper fingers are retracted to formloops in the cord. The needles are then rotated and the machine isbrought to rest. Before starting the machine in operation the eyelets ofa new upper are slipped over the threaded needles, so that upon movementof the cord carrying needle, the cord will be passed through the loopsformed about the needles to prevent withdrawal of the loops from theupper after the upper has been released from the machine.

In the machine described in the patent above referred to, all of thelooper fingers 4 are retracted simultaneously to form with the lacingneedles loops of cord bent sharply about the ends of the needles, thuscausing considerable tension and wear on the oord asit is drawn over thebarbs of the needles from the supply.

According tol the feature of the present invention, the looper fingersdo not cause the cord after being threaded in the needles to be drawnfrom one loop to another, and the cord takes a substantially straightpath from the cord carrying needle 6 to the needles as they are beinglooped. The looper fingers, in the machine embodying the invention,` aremounted to move independently of each other and to this end with'theextheizthird needle only, as'shown in lig. 12, and so ception .sofa oneare .-mountedupona'rodsf'llI-x slid'- ing in tubular members `"12.:ZI-herods 1:8 fhave blocksy :14 clamped .to `theirfforward ends ibyscrews 16. The.loopertfingers.:are securedfwith- ,in :the blocks14.ibyfscrewsrf18 threaded inthe -blocks and engaging :the looperfingers 'at their inner ends. The tubular: members '|2i are; mountvedvupon. the .slide IUby-screws 88. passing .through VrodsV 10., .butgismadezfast directly.` to :the -slide |.8 by ascrew 86 .which 'engages a:block 81 on the inner `end of this-loopernger (fsee;il.ig.:5)'. ',The4looper ngers 4 are vmovable vrelatively rto `the slide. 0, butarevyieldinglyheld in an `aligned poisition, as shown inFig. 3,byVcoiledf-springs :.8-8

surrounding the'rodsvlll .within theatubularmemvbers 12, and beinginterposed between shoulders at the end of the tubularmembers 12Yandbloclss 98sattachedgto the inner ends of the :rods 18. As the slide|8 isf retracted the `springs 88 are .com-

pressed, but the looper'nngers 4 are restrained -from rmovement -andarev thus prevented from forming loops the needlesuntilafter the looperfinger 84 has .withdrawn'a lengthf of ythread across the-first needle ofthe series.

I n orderto restrain the looper fingers 4 from movement with theslideill), the.blocks 88 are formed `with downward projections .92 of suc--cessively increasing lengths extending through slots formed at thelower portions of the tubular members 12. These projections are engagedby a latch .bar 94 formed with a pair of parallel armspivotallymounted.v on aY pair of studs 96 fixed in side portions of 1the-.carrier8. After the slide ,l0 has been fully retracted, the latch bar is moveddownwardly,l releasing the looper niger 4 next tothe looper finger 84which carries the projection 92 of shortest length. As the latch ismoved further downwardly, `itfrelea'ses the remaining looper lingerssuccessivelyl by allowing the remaining projections Y92 to `escapeandthe looperfingers vare all retractedone after another vtothevpositions shown'in Fig. 3 .by the correspondingV springsk 88.

During the release of lthe .looperyfingers the needles are held in-`they positions lshown in Fig. 2 and while the looper 1inger84 is-being-moved withthe slide, the lacing cord is being drawn over .thebarb ofthe first looperneedle 2 of thelseries `and from the eye of the needle 6in a substantially straight line. The next :looper finger-4 is notoperated untilthe slide has substantially com p-leted its movement sothat when it engages the cord in forming the loop yaround the secondQneedle, Ythe thread vis no longer being drawn through the rst needle.

The positionsof rthepartsduring formation of the loops is moreclearlyshown inFgs. .9 to l2 inclusive, in which Fig. 9 shows the cord carryingneedle 6 in a positionto be engagedby theneedles 2. The cordis lshownextending in contact with a'guide bar 98 which acts to hold the cord inproper position after the loops have been formed. Fig, 10 shows theposition of the parts after the slide has retracted with the looperfinger 84 while the looper fingers 4 are held against movement. When thelooper finger 4 adjacent the looper nger 84 is released by the latch 94,the cord is bent about and drawn against the second needle only, asshown in Fig. 11. When the third looper finger has been released, thecord is drawn against :on through 1the;.series1until vall of ftheneedles ,have l.been completely threaded, the supply Y,of cord beingrdrawn :only from the v.cord needle Ali,

and with a more regular movement than is pos- .i

`sible :when the looper lingers .are all ,actuated simultaneously.

:,Tocausethe latch'bar 94ito lrelease the projections:92,a downwardlyextending armof the latchgisf.connected:by.a link lwithzafcam actuvatedlever |82 carryinga ,cam roll engaging a cam on thercam shaft I6. Thelever v| 82is moved rearwardlyfcausmg the latch bar-94 to' be moved'fromrthe ,positionfshownv in Fig. l;6,:downwar.dly

-untilfalliof the' projections V92 havebeenzreleased.

y'Ihepositionsofthe,looper ngers 84 and 4 shown in this ligurevcorrespond; tothe lpositions shown diagrammatically in Fig. 10.After-'fthe latch 'releases fthe/.second looper'n-ger, as shown in Fig."I, causing .the. cord ito take the position .shown Vin .'Fig. v11,-there -is' no further ymovement of thecorjd through the hook of the f,second need1e;;2. After .the third looper vlinger 4 vhas .been'released-.bythe latch 94 into the position shown in Figy, thegcordis:movedninto'the-posi- 4tion shown'in'Fig.l2.

When the last loopergfinger has been released bytheflatch 94, .ftheneedles 2 are rotated 'apvproximately rdegreeson their spindles38 by.azpin M14-carried byanother arm extendingxfrom ithe;lat ch l94 andengaging the'end of a slot |86 in va link- |118 vpivotally connected toan varm i6 extendingfrom the hub -of the arm 46. The arms 481-1and58being attached tothe shaft 52?.,

After an upper has been laced and released from `the machine, the slideI8 and the latch 94 are returned to their original positions, and theneedles are again rotated to the positions` shown in Fig..2.

When the slide I8 commences its retracting movement before the carrier 3rises to its liighest position, one-:or-more of the looper lingers 'mayreach the lacing cord before it has been engagedby the needles and, as aconsequence, one or more of the loops may be improperly formed. InVorder to avoid this result a thread vfinger ||2 is provided to actbetween the rst gand second needles 2 of 'the rseries before the Islide|0 carrying the looper fingers 4 begins to.

retract. 'The cord is bent downwardly between the ends of the first twoneedles, as shown in Fig. 13, bythe thread linger l2 in suiilcient timeto insure `that vthe cord ywill be engaged in the yeye ,of the firstneedle before the looper finger-u: .84 reaches the cord.

The vthread finger ||2 is formed at the vend of arod ||4vsliding in ablock H6 at the front of the` machine yand is operated through a set ofconnections to `a cam on the cam shaft i6. vTherupper end of the rod ||4is `connected by `a' link I8 lto the :upper y.side -of the guideway 58.The lower end of the lever |20 is connected by alink |.24-toa lever |26fulcrumed on a shaft |28 carriedbythe frame ,ofthe machine. .Tl'ie`raise the transverse bar 46 torock the needles. "35

ing the ends of the cord and the operation f the lother parts of themachine are the same as described in the patent hereinbefore referredto, to which reference may be had for a more complete description. y

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and amachine embodying the several features of the invention having beespecifically described, what is claimed is: i

1. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a pluralityof needles, means` for threading the needles with a lacing cord,'aplurality of looper fingers, individual yieldingmeans for actuating eachlooper finger, and a latch for restraining the looper fingers ininoperative position and for releasing them one lat a time'to form aseries of loops in the lacing cord.

2. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a pluralityof needles, means for ythreading the needles with a lacing cord, aslide,

a plurality of looper fingers movably mounted on the slide, resilientmeans interposed between the slide'and the looper fingers, means foractuating the slide to cause the looper fingers to form loops in thecord between the needles, and a releasable latch to hold the looperfingers stationair;r while the slide is being actuated.

3. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a pluralityof needles, means for threading the needles with a lacing cord, a slide,

a plurality of looper fingers movably mounted on the slide, resilientmeans interposed between the slide and the looper fingers, means foractuating the slide to cause the looper fingers to form loops in thecord between the needles, lugslex'- tending from the looper fingers,anda latch arranged to engage the lugs and to release the looper fingersone at a time under the action of the resilient means.

4. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a pluralityof rotatable needles, means for threading the needles with lacing cord,a slide, a plurality of looper fingers movably mounted on the slide,resilient means interposed between the slide and the looper fingers,means for actuating the slide to cause the looper fingers to form loop-sin the cord between the needles, a releasable latch to hold the looperfingers stationary while the slide is being actuated, and means forrotating the needles after the looper ngers have been released from thelatch. Y

5. A machine for lacing shoe uppersliaving, in combination, a pluralityof needles, means for threading the needles with a lacing cord',l aslide, a looper finger fixed to the slide, a plurality of looper fingersmovably mounted on the slide, resilient means interposed between theslide and the movable looper fingers, means for actuating the slide tocause the looper fingers to form Aloops in the cord between the needles,and a releasable latch to hold the movable looper fingers stationarywhile the fixed looper finger moves with the slide.

6. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a pluralityof needles, means for threading the needles witha lacing cord, a slide,a looper .finger xed to the slide, resilient means interposed betweenthe slide and the movable looper fingers, means for actuating the slideto cause the looper fingers to form loops in the cord between theneedles, lugs extending from the other looper fingers, and a latcharranged to. engage the lugs and'to release the movable looper fingersone at a time under the action of the resilient means.

7. A machine for'lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, aA needlecarrier, a plurality of barbed needles on the carrier, means forpositioning a length Vof cord across the path of movement of theneedles, a plurality of looper fingers, means foractuating the looperfingers to form loops in the cord between the needles, and a threadfinger arranged to cause the cord to be engaged by the barbs ofone ormore of the needles before the looper fingers are actuated.

8. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a movablecarrier, a plurality of barbed needles on the carrier, means forpositioning a length of cord across the path of movement of the needles,means for moving the carrier to engage the cord-n the needles, aplurality of looper fingers, means for actuating certain of the looperfingers to form loops in the cord between the needles ybefore thecarrier moving means is operated, and a thread finger Varranged to causethe cord to be engaged by the barbs of one or more of theneedlesadjacent said certain of thelooper fingers before any of said `looperfingers are operated.

9. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a movablecarrier, a plurality of barbed needles on the carrier, a cord carryingneedle for positioning a length of cord across the path of movement ofthe needles, means for moving the carrier to engage the cord with theneedles, a slide, a looper finger fixed to the slide, a plurality oflooper fingers movably mounted on the slide, means for actuating theslide and the movable 'looper fingers at different times to form loopsin the cord between theV needles, and means for engaging the cord withthe barb of a needle adjacent the fixed looper nger before the carriermoving means causes the cord to engage the other needles.4

10. A machine for lacing shoe uppers having, in combination, a movablecarrier, a plurality of barbed needles onthe carrier, a cord carryingneedles for positioning a length of cord across the Vpath of movement ofthe needles, means for moving the carrier to engage the cord with theneedles, a slide, a looper iinger fixed to the slide,

a plurality of looper fingers movably mounted on the slide, means foractuating the slide andthe movable looper fingers at different times todraw lengths of cord through the needles, and a thread finger actingbetween two adjacent needles to engage the cord with the barbs of saidneedles before the needle moving means causes the cord to engagethe'other needles.

SIDNEY J. FINN.

